Beam based seating has been provided in a number of different forms where a beam is supported along rows of seating and then the chairs are connected to that beam. These beam systems typically utilize large stair shaped risers in existing stadiums to secure to. Alternately, the beam is secured via supports to the floor of the stadium.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,073,858 is one such beam system where plates 23 are secured to the riser 32 and then a beam 10 is secured on top of that plate 23 at a distance away from the riser 32. The beam 10 is provided with structure which allows the seat support 60 which includes a clamp 68 and return portion 69 to secure over and then under the back of the beam to allow the seat to be supported by the beam. While this beam system does provide for mounting of beam based seating systems, there are a number of disadvantages. First, since the plates 23 are required to space the beam away from the riser 32, there is necessarily additional space taken up. In a large stadium, especially with new construction, one inch of space saved per row can add many additional rows in the sense that one inch per row eventually adds up to a new row. The '858 patent although providing for a convenient mounting method for the chairs, suffers the disadvantage of taking significant space and having a beam which projects out rather far from the concrete riser, which means the stadium is less flexible to utilizing the space with the seats removed, which may be desirable in certain instances.
The '858 patent also suffers the disadvantage that the plates 23 all need to be independently set level with one another, which can be a difficult task of lining up hundreds of these plates 23 in a particular job. Thus, it is desirable to eliminate or at least reduce the amount of leveling measurements required for proper installation of a beam system.
Further, the '858 patent requires use of rather complicated molds to create the support 60 with clamp/return 68/69 to secure to the beam in that typically a glass reinforced nylon material is used for the part of the support 60 which secures around the described rear overhang of the beam. Given that the beam extrusion is also custom and the mold for the support is too, the capital costs and manufacturing difficulties result in increased expense. Further, the glass reinforced nylon material can degrade over time when exposed to sunlight.